Chapter 7: How Louis Pasteur Changed the World - Lesson 7.1

Vocabulary flashcards covering Louis Pasteur's life, scientific discoveries, germ theory, pasteurization, and the development of early vaccines.

Louis Pasteur

A mid- to late 19th-century scientist who demonstrated that microorganisms cause disease and developed early vaccines against fowl cholera, anthrax, and rabies.

Attenuated Microbes

Pathogens artificially weakened in the laboratory through aging, exposure to oxygen, heat, or passing through non-human host animals.

École Normale Supérieure

The institution where Pasteur earned his master's and doctorate, returned as Director of Studies in 1857, and built a private attic laboratory to study fermentation and microbes.

Pasteurization

A process discovered in 1855 involving the heating of liquids to the right temperature to kill harmful spoilage bacteria.

Germ Theory

The foundational microbiology concept popularized in 1864 stating that diseases arise from the activities of microorganisms, which led to hospital hygiene and sterilization.

Silkworm Blight Discovery

An 1865 breakthrough in which Pasteur saved the French silk industry by discovering that a silkworm disease was caused by two distinct microorganisms.

Fowl Cholera and Anthrax Vaccines

Groundbreaking vaccines developed by Pasteur in 1879, marking the birth of immunization through attenuated pathogens.

Joseph Meister

A nine-year-old boy mauled by a rabid dog who became the first human successfully treated with Pasteur's rabies vaccine on July 6, 1885.

Institut Pasteur

A vaccine research and discovery institute established through worldwide public donations following the successful human rabies treatment.

Sanofi Pasteur

The pharmaceutical company that carries on the tradition of discovering and producing vaccines initiated by the Institut Pasteur.